Leah Remini Joins Popular Dance Competition Show as Judge

Leah Remini is joining So You Think You Can Dance as the show’s newest judge following the firing of Matthew Morrison last month. Last week, the reality show announced that Remini will appear alongside JoJo Siwa and Stephen “tWitch” Boss on the dance competition’s judging panel starting on Wednesday, June 15.

When SYTYCD enters its live phase this week, Remini will join the long-running Fox competition show. Morrison left the show on May 27 after violating its competition production protocols. Remini‘s first episode on the judging panel will also be the show’s milestone 300th episode on June 15.

“I am thrilled to join So You Think You Can Dance on its milestone 300th episode,” Remini said in a statement. “I look forward to guiding these incredibly talented artists through this competition as a fan of the show and a great admirer of dancers. I can’t wait to see the artistry that the contestants bring to the stage!”

In addition to starring in CBS’ The King of Queens and Kevin Can Wait, Remini has been nominated for two Emmys for the A&E documentary Scientology and the Aftermath. She also hosts the game show People Puzzler on GSN, which earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination.

Although Remini is not a professional dancer, the Emmy Award winner competed on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars in 2013, finishing in fifth place with partner Tony Dovolani. During later seasons, she served as a guest judge and co-host on the program.

In the wake of Morrison’s departure, reports surfaced that the Broadway star was fired for behavioral misconduct. Last month, a source close to the show told PEOPLE that Morrison was terminated because of his inappropriate relationship with a contestant. “They didn’t have sex, but he reached out to her through flirty direct messages on social media,” the source said. “She felt uncomfortable with his line of comments and went to producers, who then got Fox involved. He was fired after they did their own investigation.”

In the source’s words, Morrison and the unidentified female contestant “never actually met off-set. It was just messages that crossed the line.” Morrison responded to the situation on June 3 in a video posted on Instagram. “It’s really unfortunate that I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide,” he said. “So, in the interest of transparency, I will read to you the one message I wrote to a dancer on the show.”

He said he sent a single text message reading, “Hey, it’s Matthew. If you don’t mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things.” He said he contacted the contestant because both were interested in a specific choreographer. 

However, judges and contestants interacting off-camera on talent shows are against the rules. After leaving the series, Morrison appeared in two prerecorded episodes, but he won’t appear when the show begins filming live episodes that determine which contestants advance to the next round.